2012 U.S. Championships News
The 2012 U.S. Junior Closed Championship began yesterday with exciting games, excellent analysis by the commentators and a spectacular will to win amongst all competitors. After two rounds, FM Alec Getz leads group A, and there is a four-way tie for first in group B. Round one began promptly at 11 a.m. with an exciting matchup between the top-two seeds in the A-group, IM Conrad Holt and IM Darwin Yang.
The Classical Nimzo Indian was on the menu, and the players quickly reached a blocked position that seemed destined for a draw. However, after careful maneuvering and patient play, Holt traded to an endgame with two bishops versus two corralled knights. Demonstrating his excellent technique, Holt pressured the kingside, leaving Yang in zugzwang – unable to move a single piece without conceding more ground. Yang capitulated after 79 moves.
It was obvious from the start that each player had the focused determination necessary to win such a strong tournament, demonstrated by the fact that all games but one were decisive. Even the draw between Eric Rosen of Chicago and Kayden Troff of West Jordan, Utah was a nail-biting affair; Troff reached a pawn-up endgame after 25 moves but went astray just before time control, sacrificing a bishop to open lines against Rosen’s king. Sharing the pressure of the clock, Rosen failed to capitalize on his advantage and the game was drawn after 66 moves.
Round two saw similar excitement. At 11 years old, FM Jeffrey Xiong is the youngest competitor in the tournament, but was able to show some real chess maturity in his game versus top-seed IM Conrad Holt. Xiong, playing with the white pieces, transposed into a Caro Kann - Panov Attack and cruised to an easy draw. Perhaps one of the most useful themes to study in chess is how to play either side of an Isolated Queen Pawn position, and it was clear that Xiong is well-learned in such positions.
The longest game in round two was National Master Robert Perez of Texas against fellow NM Raven Sturt of New York. It was a back-and-forth battle with winning chances for both sides. After the game Sturt said he was in big trouble at some point, but fought hard to hold the draw. In fact, Perez had a winning advantage around move 82, but queen endgames are notoriously difficult, and with little time, he was unable to see the winning line. With 90. a7, Perez was no longer able to stop the perpetual check and the game ended in a draw after 112 moves.
Local master Kevin Cao racked a point on the scoreboard by defeating Eric Rosen in round two. After a sharp Taimanov Sicilian, white’s initiative had all but disappeared until Rosen blundered with 27. e5. Despite a sizeable advantage, Cao seemed to go astray and the position was roughly equal just before time control. However, Rosen made the final mistake on move 40 and Kevin coast to victory on move 71.
Round two also saw a matchup between the highest-rated players in the B-group, IM Daniel Naroditsky and IM Marc Arnold. After an irregular opening, the players reached an unclear position at move 31 and agreed to a draw. After the game, Arnold commented that he was lucky to have 30. Ne4, or else his position would be dreadful.
As always, GM Ben Finegold, who won the Junior Closed Championship in 1989, and FM Aviv Friedman, coach to many top juniors at international events, did an excellent job with commentary. Their clear analysis and witty repartee elated spectators in the club and around the world via the internet. Finegold agreed that the number of decisive games is testament to the fighting spirit and youthful energy within the field. Tune in every day, starting at 11am to follow the action live at uschesschamps.com.
SAINT LOUIS (July 11, 2012) -- Round 1 of the 2012 U.S. Junior Closed Championship begins today in Saint Louis, and the marquee match-up pits GM-elect conrad Holt against IM Darwin Yang, who recently secured his second GM norm last month at the New York International. The first round begins at 11 a.m. CT, Noon EST, and the event will feature live play-by-play from GM Ben Finegold and FM Aviv Friedman. Round two will take place today at 5 p.m. CT, 6 p.m. ET.
Access the live commentary by visiting www.uschesschamps.com/live.
Tournament play will run through July 15, and the event will feature two rounds per day. The event features an overall prize fund of $18,000.
The group of 16 players has been split into two fields of eight players each. The eight players will play one another in a round robin, and the winner of each field will play a head-to-head, two-game match for the title. If the score is tied after two games, there will be a playoff to determine the 2012 U.S. Junior Closed Champion.
Click here to find the round-by-round pairings: www.uschesschamps.com/standings-and-games.
The list of invited players and current USCF ratings is as follows:
• IM Marc Arnold (2612)
• IM Conrad Holt (2580)
• IM Darwin Yang (2562)
• IM Daniel Naroditsky (2552)
• FM Victor Shen (2532)
• NM Robert Perez (2519)
• NM Will Fisher (2436)
• FM Eric Rosen (2422)
• FM Alec Getz (2410)
• FM Jeffery Xiong (2394)
• NM Raven Sturt (2387)
• NM Atulya Shetty (2379)
• FM Kayden Troff (2368)
• NM Justus Williams (2318)
• NM Kevin Cao (2230)
• NM Matthew Michaelides (2164)
The 2012 U.S. Junior Closed Champion also will receive an invitation to the 2013 U.S. Championship and the 2013 U.S. Junior Closed Championship.
SAINT LOUIS, June 26, 2012 -- The Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis has increased both the size of the field and the prize fund for the 2012 U.S. Junior Closed Championship, scheduled from July 10 through July 16.
Organizers increased the field from 10 players to 16 due to a misunderstanding on current regulations. The U.S. Chess Federation verified some invitations, but inadvertently overlooked one qualifying tournament and one invitation by rating. Thanks to additional sponsorship by the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis, the USCF and software development company ConRadical, the prize fund for this prestigious event has been increased to a record-breaking $18,000.
To accommodate the larger field, the organizers modified the format of the Junior Championship. The group of 16 will be split into two fields of eight players each. The eight players will play one another in a round robin, and the winner of each field will play a head-to-head, two-game match for the title. If the score is tied after two games, there will be a playoff to determine the 2012 U.S. Junior Closed Champion.
The list of invited players and current USCF ratings is as follows:
IM Marc Arnold (2612)
IM Conrad Holt (2580)
IM Darwin Yang (2562)
IM Daniel Naroditsky (2552)
FM Victor Shen (2532)
NM Robert Perez (2519)
NM Will Fisher (2436)
FM Eric Rosen (2422)
FM Alec Getz (2410)
FM Jeffery Xiong (2394)
NM Raven Sturt (2387)
NM Atulya Shetty (2379)
FM Kayden Troff (2368)
NM Justus Williams (2318)
NM Kevin Cao (2230)
Matthew Michaelides (2164)
The 2012 U.S. Junior Closed Champion also will receive an invitation to the 2013 U.S. Championship, 2013 U.S. Junior Closed Championship and the 2012 World Junior Championship, scheduled to be held August 1 through August 16 in Athens, Greece.
For more information on the players, prizes, rules and tournament format, please visit http://saintlouischessclub.org/2012-us-junior-closed-championship.
| U.S. Championship Fantasy Standings | |||||||||
| Place | User | Team Name | Total Points | US Champ | USW Champ | Total Pts Guess | Longest Game | Decisive - US Champ | Decisive - US Women |
| 1 | Toby Boas | TheHeroOfAges | 66 | Nakamura | Krush | 69 | 110 | 25 | 25 |
| 2 | Evan Rabin | Rabin's Winning Team | 66 | Nakamura | Krush | 63 | 100 | 24 | 17 |
| 3 | Jim Voelker | Just Guessing | 66 | Nakamura | Krush | 54.5 | 120 | 40 | 30 |
| 4 | Carl Ahlborg | Manifested Victorious | 66 | Nakamura | Krush | 51 | 47 | 28 | 23 |
| 5 | Stephen Welt | sawelt | 65.5 | Nakamura | Krush | 68 | 85 | 42 | 28 |
The tiebreaks were 1) accurately predicting how many points your Fantasy Team would earn, 2) accurately predicting the number of moves for the longest game, 3) accurately predicting how many games in the U.S. Championship would be decisive, and 4) accurately predicting how many games in the U.S. Women's Championship would be decisive. These tiebreaks were used sequentially, and most ties were broken with the first question. The exception was determining 1st and 2nd place; both Toby Boas and Evan Rabin, who each earned 66 Fantasy Points, were off by just three points on their guess. The second tiebreak resulted in Toby Boas taking clear first, with his guess of 110 moves for the longest game (Nakamura - Lenderman was drawn after 121 moves).
The prizes for Fantasy Chess are as follows:
- Biasov Luxury Chess Table and personalized U.S. Championships poster signed by the 2012 U.S. Champion and U.S. Women's Champion
- Private lesson (in person or online) with GM Ben Finegold, a joint membership to the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis & the World Chess Hall of Fame and a signed poster from the 2012 U.S. Championship and U.S. Women's Championship
- Private lesson (in person or online) with WGM Jennifer Shahade, signed copies of Jennifer's books "Chess Bitch" and "Play Like a Girl", and a vinyl board signed by the participants in the 2012 U.S. Women's Championship
- A wooden chess board signed by the players in the 2012 U.S. Championship and U.S. Women's Championship
- A 2012 U.S. Championships polo, vinyl board & Championship poster signed by the players in the 2012 U.S. Championship and U.S. Women's Championship
Thanks to all who participated, and we hope you'll join us next year for more exciting Fantasy Chess fun!
Click here to visit LIVE coverage of the showdown between GM Anatoly Karpov and GM Yasser Seirawan!
Click here to view the schedule of events and tourney form
By FM Mike Klein
IM Irina Krush won both games of yesterday's rapid playoff match to become the 2012 U.S. Women's Champion. Playing black, Krush beat defending champion IM Anna Zatonskih in the first encounter, then survived several exceptional blunders to win game two.
An emotional Krush ran downstairs after the second game and hugged everyone in sight. Zatonskih and Krush have now alternated wins at the women's championship for the past four years. The duo have won the last seven titles combined, and this was Krush's fourth in her career.
“That's a scary-looking position when all you need is a draw,” Krush said during the post-game commentary. After winning the first game, she found herself on the wrong end of an all-out attack. Zatonskih's two bishops, two knights and queen were all poised to strike. The enemy queen on h3 loomed ominously on one of Krush's weak light squares. Krush said she simply missed the idea of 19...Ne5 with the idea of heading to g4. She set up a second-rank defense by clearing out her minor pieces, but she panicked after the pin 22...Bf5. While it seems dangerous to stay in the pin, it was better than her chosen alternative, 23. Ng5. The counterattack should have failed, but while all of the fellow competitors saw 23...Qxf1+ right away, Zatonskih sat there analyzing for several minutes.
“I just thought maybe she's savoring the moment,” Krush said, admitting she saw the refutation almost immediately after her knight move. Eventually, Zatonskih played a different move. Krush called the situation “my first gift ... unfortunately my position is still positionally terrible.” The second gift came on the final move.
Though Zatonskih's 23rd move was not the best, she still had a much more pleasant position. Krush labored to find more defensive moves and had to sacrifice an exchange almost right away to prevent the loss of her c4 pawn and the subsequent demise of her lone bishop.
“It wasn't even easy to get to that losing position,” Krush said. She was down to fewer than five seconds repeatedly, but stayed alive with the five-second increment. The two previously had a contentious title decided in 2008 without the use of increment. Zatonskih squandered her six-minute advantage but still kept a winning position. She eventually found an invasion for her rooks. After Krush's 47. Ne5 to defend the c-pawn, Krush expected 47...f6 to deflect the knight, after which she said, “Black is just losing of course.”
Instead, with her clock almost expired, Zatonskih played 47...Rxc4 almost immediately. The recapture 48. Nxc4 ended the game, as Zatonskih resigned right away.
“Anything can happen when you're down to five seconds,” Krush said. “It's not every day that your opponent gives you a rook – twice!”
In their first game, Krush equalized with the ...c6 variation of the Modern Defense. Zatonskih had the possibility to repeat the position by chasing Krush's queen back and forth, but instead chose the risky advance g4. Krush's knight sortie to e4 turned the tables, and eventually her queen probed the weak white king. After landing on f3, and with both rooks on the second rank, Zatonskih could not find an answer in the few seconds she had remaining and lost on time.
Krush wins $18,000 for the title, while Zatonskih pockets $12,000 for second place.